


Life's Too Short

by Miicah



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Implied Sexual Content, Love Triangles, Romance, Unrequited Crush, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-06
Updated: 2015-11-06
Packaged: 2018-04-30 06:45:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5154119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miicah/pseuds/Miicah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes, tragedy tears people apart. But other times, it can be the start of something new.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Life's Too Short

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the tumblr prompt I got: Love triangle of Cisco/Iris/Barry(that famous "She's hot." from Pilot) obviously with WestAllen endgame, fluff/implicit smut. (I'm like 99% sure I didn't achieve it but lmao here it is.)
> 
> I originally wanted to set it during S2 but I was having trouble thinking of ways to reach the smut part lmao So I set it during the Pilot/the nine months Barry was in a coma, where Barry did end up confessing to Iris when they were talking about Starling City and Iris never dated Eddie. Also kinda angsty because Barry is in a coma XD I love writing things set during those nine months, I’m sorry xP

Cisco was never one to put much stock in stereotypes. Hell, he spent most of his life trying to break the ones put upon him—was still doing it, even. So he should’ve been ashamed of himself when he was completely floored by the fact that Barry Allen—an apparent nerd, just like him—had a best friend like Iris West. Maybe even something more, if his Spidey senses were working correctly. The woman was _beyond_ gorgeous—even a blind man would be able to tell that—and after that one awkward moment where he tried to talk about quantum theories with her, thinking that she had science in common with the comatose male, and she gave him a look that clearly stated everything he was saying was going straight over her head, he learned the hard way that that was not the case.

It was like living The Big Bang Theory (not that he’s ever really watched it, he was more of a movie nut after all), and it was hard to wrap his head around because this was reality and these things just didn’t happen. It both excited and terrified the engineer, though, to imagine that if that could come true, what was next? The possibilities were endless. Like, time travel would be pretty kickass but as an inventor he did _not_ what his creations to come after him with a vengeance (but them gaining artificial intelligence would be _hella_ sweet).

Maybe Iris was the anomaly here. She was way out of their league, she had to have known that, and if there was one true thing Hollywood did that imitated life it was that people like her just didn’t mix with people like them. Cisco’s curiosity eventually became so huge that one day while she was on her way out after visiting Barry he had just blurted out, “How are you and Barry friends?”

Iris had stopped and turned towards him, and even though her eyes were red from crying, having just seen said friend, she still looked fierce. “What, because he knows how to split an atom in two or something I can’t be best friends with the guy?” She had meant it jokingly but it wasn’t the first time she got asked that. She was sure people thought they were complimenting her or something but it bothered the post-graduate student. Iris didn’t appreciate the jab at Barry or at herself—just because he liked to go full-nerd on some things didn’t mean she didn’t enjoy him doing so, and just because science wasn’t her forte didn’t mean she wasn’t knowledgeable in other things.

Cisco didn’t miss how she used present tense to refer to someone who hadn’t spoken in almost two months since he fell into a coma, and the S.T.A.R. Labs worker both admired and fed off of her unwavering hope. Her words actually sounded a little playful, too, but with the challenging raising of her eyebrows he didn’t dare laugh in case he was reading it all wrong. He could build practically anything from scratch but women were tricky beings to understand. “I kinda meant it in reverse but you get the gist of it, yeah.”

Chocolate brown eyes softened as if she understood where his disbelief stemmed from, the experiences he must’ve gone through to come to such a conclusion (because unbeknownst to him she witnessed it first hand with Barry), and she took a couple steps towards him to close the gap between them. “I’ve known him since we were ten. And, okay, maybe he was a bit of a dork even then,” Iris laughed a bit, her eyes getting misty again as she thought of Barry, and Cisco kicked himself for bringing the poor woman on the edge of tears, “But I judge a person’s character by their heart, not by what some self-conscious kids label each other as. Barry has a heart of gold, and I wouldn’t be surprised to find out you do, too.”

He smiled gratefully at her then—it meant a lot to hear that, especially from her, considering he worked for the place that put her best friend in a coma to begin with, even if it was a freak accident.

Iris briefly returned it before bowing her head in a gesture of goodbye. “Until tomorrow, Mr. Ramon,” she said before she continued on her way out.

“It’s Cisco.”

The woman stopped to looking back at him questioningly. “What?”

The engineer cleared his throat before he spoke again. “Call me Cisco. Mr. Ramon is my father.”

There was a small laugh, as if Iris wouldn’t allow herself to feel completely happy. “Cisco,” she amended herself, and as he watched her leave he couldn’t help but think that Iris was as beautiful inside as she was out.

* * *

Iris never thought about just how infrequently she visited Barry’s apartment before the accident until it hit her one day how familiar his place had become to her. It wasn’t in a good neighbourhood (as was usually the case in trying to find an apartment on a modest salary), so the forensic scientist didn’t like her coming over, and if they weren’t hanging out on the town they were at Joe’s house anyway.

Honestly, the part-time barista had probably went to his apartment more in the last three months than she had the previous year combined, and she tried not to think about how sad that may or may not have been. Iris supposed a more logical person would’ve terminated the lease once the first four weeks passed by, but it quickly became a physical manifestation of her hope and faith that Barry would come back to them…to _her_. After all, he could wake up at any time, and once he did he’d want to return to his humble abode, right? And eventually that morphed into maintaining the place, since she couldn’t very well have him go home to a dusty, dirty space.

It had unintentionally started with her eating all the perishable foods he had in his fridge. It was back when Barry was still admitted in the hospital and she had only meant to stop by briefly before going to her shift at work after a fitful sleep at his bedside. (It was sort of hard getting any rest when all she heard was Barry’s heart flat-lining when she was awake _and_ asleep.) Iris sat down on his couch just for a moment, to take in his spirit that she could see and feel and smell all around her and before she knew it she was out like a light.

The part-time barista got five solid hours of sleep (which didn’t sound like much but it was the most she had all week) before she was startled awake by a nightmare (only to realize a few seconds later that nope, she was _still_ living it). Her stomach distracted her then, which led Iris to raiding his kitchen, cooking enough to bring some for her next trip to the hospital because the stuff they served there could never be considered edible. (A part of her hoped the smell of some good cooking, _her_ cooking, would wake Barry up, but it hadn’t happened yet.)

Soon Iris was dropping by to clean and pick up his mail, as she was doing that day, and as she held up one piece in particular a small smile graced her lips. A new idea to nudge her best friend into consciousness began to form, and after stuffing the item in her purse and making a pit stop at Jitters, the post-graduate student walked into the Cortex at S.T.A.R. Labs with a tray full of coffee and a bag of pastries.

“I come bearing goodies!” she announced as cheerfully as she could as she began to hand out the caffeinated drinks.

“As always, thank you, Miss West,” Dr. Wells said before he took a sip.

“The gesture’s appreciated but completely unnecessary,” Caitlin commented, and if it was several months ago Iris would’ve taken offense to how she said it with a deadpan face, but she’s come to learn the good doctor enough to know she meant well (and honestly she’s quite impressed at how neutral the other woman’s look had become since then; it was really a step in the right direction).

Actually, the dark-haired female _did_ take her aloofness the wrong way the first time they met—weren’t doctors supposed to be empathetic?—but Cisco had told her she’s been going through her own loss like they all have been. Iris could only imagine what could’ve happened, and felt a little guilty for hoping she didn’t end up coming like Dr. Snow as time went by (not that she would because Barry would definitely wake up soon).

Speaking of the engineer, he eagerly took his cup and smiled gratefully at Iris. “Yeah, well, I’d never turn down an opportunity for sugar.”

“Amen to that,” Iris concurred, and they mockingly clinked their cups together in cheers. It wasn’t like it was out of her way to get it, anyway—she literally worked at a coffee shop.

“Why don’t we give you some time with Mr. Allen.” Nodding in courtesy, Dr. Wells, led the way out of the Cortex in his wheelchair followed closely by Caitlin, and with one last look at her Cisco had ran to meet them at the elevator.

Iris’ façade broke briefly as she was left alone, but she put on a smile as she grabbed the nearest chair and sat close to Barry. “Hey Bear, it’s me, Iris. Again, I know, right? I know you’re probably upset about that but I’m gonna be here every day like I’ve always been, so you either better wake up or get used to it. Personally I’d prefer the former,” she tried to joke, though her barely contained sob sort of ruined the effect, “But either way I’m not leaving you.”

_Not again_ , she vowed, remembering the last time she left him, just for a second to get some drinks to celebrate not only the particle accelerator going online but for her positive response to his confession before they were so rudely interrupted by that mugger, and she came back only to find him unconscious having been struck by lightning…

Clearing her throat, as thinking about that night always got her choked up, Iris reached out for her purse to pull out the piece of mail she had put there earlier. “Anyway, I’ll spare you the exciting details of my morning to read you something you’ll really be happy to hear. One of those science magazines you subscribe to came in today, so I thought I’d treat you to that. I can’t believe I didn’t think of this sooner.”

It never really occurred to the barista since science usually put _her_ to sleep and the last thing she wanted was to put Barry in a deeper one, but this was her best friend she was talking about—he practically lived for this kind of thing. Besides, she had a long-shot silly hope that she was banking on in reading it to him. Glancing at the table of contents, Iris flipped to an article that even remotely interested her and began reading.

“Numerous popular media sources have developed lists of ‘Super Foods’ and, more recently, ‘Super Fruits’. Such distinctions often are based on the antioxidant capacity and content of naturally occurring compounds such as ply…. plyfee…”

“Plyphenols.”

Startled, Iris looked up at Barry, but realizing he was still in a coma, she turned her head to look at the real source of the voice to find Cisco standing by the computer consoles, who gave her a timid smile and a sheepish wave.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I came back for my stash of candy that I keep at my desk because I was definitely gonna crash after that coffee. I just meant to sneak in and out before you noticed but…” He trailed off since, well, she already knew what happened.

The post-grad student offered him a shaky smile before she straightened in her chair trying to reorient herself. She thought for sure her plan had worked… “No, it’s…fine. Did you read this article, too?”

Comforted by the fact that she wasn’t going to bite his head off, Cisco relaxed and approached her, his main purpose of having gone back to the Cortex in the first place temporarily forgotten. “Tech is more my jam, but anything that can prove that chocolate is good for you I am all over it.”

A small laugh—if there was any doubt before, there wasn’t now. They certainly shared a sweet tooth. “Totally. I saw cacao in the summary and jumped all over it myself.” Iris’ smile waned and she returned her gaze to Barry. “Truthfully, I kinda hoped if I pronounced these big scientific words wrong he’d wake up and correct me. It’s stupid, right?”

Suddenly her reaction when she heard him speak earlier made sense—Iris had thought Barry had woken up to tell her the proper way of saying it. Now Cisco felt a millions times worse for interrupting and getting her hopes up. He hated that practically ever other word he said to her was an apology, hated making her feel worse than better—he went through this with Caitlin, still going through it, actually, and he thought he’d be better at it. Though, if Caitlin closing herself off to everything was any indication, his track record was kind of poor. So, he opted to try and do the opposite. “Oh, no, no, definitely not stupid. I mean, if I heard about someone touching my babies I’d crawl out of the ground to stop them.”

There was a moment where Iris was staring up at him and Cisco thought she might’ve believed he literally meant a human child, or if the whole ‘coming back from the dead’ reference was a) too graphic and/or b) too much, because he sure as hell didn’t mean to imply Barry would die at any point. But then she laughed, a real laugh, not the toned down ones she was used to doing up until then, and before long she was wiping her eyes for a whole mess of reasons. It hurt as much as it comforted her to know how similar Barry and Cisco were.

“That just makes me tempted to sneak a touch at your babies, now,” Iris half-teased, because lord knows that if anyone told her she couldn’t do something she’d just want to do it more.

“I might give you a freebie.”

“So easy. A girl likes a challenge every once in a while.”

If he was just a random person walking by who caught wind of their conversation he would’ve thought they were talking about something completely different, and maybe not entirely all that clean. Instead of letting his mind disappear down the gutter, though, Cisco reached out and placed a hand on the woman’s shoulder in comfort. “We’re gonna bring him back to you, Iris.”

He didn’t utter the word ‘promise’ but it sounded like one, and as much as the barista wanted to call the engineer out for saying things he couldn’t deliver on, to scream that they haven’t been able to do it yet, she wanted, _needed_ , to have the hope that he and his co-workers could do it. Thinking the alternative just wasn’t an option—never was. Wordlessly, Iris placed a hand on top of his and squeezed as a show of thanks.

“I know,” Iris murmured, resting her chin atop the arm of the hand that she had yet to remove from Cisco’s. “I believe in you.”

* * *

It wasn’t the first movie night Cisco and Dr. Wells had in S.T.A.R. Labs since the accelerator exploded seven months ago, but it was the first time the engineer was finally going to get the nerve to ask Iris to join them. Before it was because they didn’t know each other that well, and as the months passed by and they became friends it turned into being nervous in extending an invitation, afraid of being rejected in more ways than one.

It wasn’t his place to tell the post-grad student to try and live her life more outside of work, school, and the lab—hell, his social life took a considerable dive once people started considering the lab as a dangerous menace and by association, him as well. The building and the people in it became his whole life, so he couldn’t fault her in that when he was the same way. But he couldn’t pretend he didn’t know she probably cried herself to sleep alone at the bedside of her comatose friend for one more movie night and not try to include her.

He probably could’ve had a little more tact in the way he did it, though.

“Hey, Iris!” Cisco exclaimed a little too loudly as the elevator door that he had been pacing in front of, practicing his speech, suddenly opened to reveal the barista.

Obviously not expecting anyone to be right there as she stepped off, Iris had jumped slightly, and she gave him a cautious smile as she walked down the hallway towards the Cortex. “Cisco…” she said suspiciously.

“How you doing?” he asked in his best Italian impression.

“Fine…” Iris repeated in the same tone she had just used, laughing a little. “How about you? Can I help you with something?” Usually the S.T.A.R. Labs trio gave her a width berth during her nightly visits with Barry.

“Actually, I was hoping _I_ can help _you_.” At her questioning expression, the engineer continued. “I’m not sure if you’re aware of this but Dr. Wells and I have this movie night every week and I was, y’know, wondering if you wanted to join—whoa!” Cisco had cut himself off as he saw Iris trip, and he reached out to steady her as she slowly sank herself onto the closest chair at the computer terminal before Barry’s bed. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

Running a shaking hand through her wavy tresses, Iris nodded. “Yeah, no, I just…I appreciate the offer but I don’t think…”

“…It’s a good idea,” the Latino male finished for her, feeling dread build up in his stomach. This was exactly what he was afraid of.

“Cisco…” As if sensing his distress, the student took hold on his hand and coaxed him into the rolling chair beside her. “It’s not what you think. Barry and I…we used to Netflix and chill all the time.”

“You’re right, that’s not what I was thinking. This is like ten times worse.”

Iris laughed hard and hit him on the shoulder with the back of her hand. “Not like _that_ , you perv. I meant literally. Lounging on the couch surrounded by junk food while we watched crappy shows that we criticized the hell out of was sort of our thing. And…”

Cisco followed her train of thought. “And you feel like you’d be betraying him if you did that with us.”

She didn’t answer but her silence was deafening. Swallowing hard, the barista blinked back her tears. “I haven’t turned on the TV since he…It just wouldn’t feel right without him.” She didn’t want him to think that she was giving up on him, or leaving him behind. It wasn’t like it’d be enjoyable without him there, anyway. Honestly, it was really his presence that she enjoyed more than anything they could’ve watched.

The engineer braced himself for the reaction he was sure to receive for what he was about to say, but he couldn’t watch her hurt anymore. “He wouldn’t want you to put your life on hold either, Iris.” And though he did indeed get an emotional response, it wasn’t exactly what he had expected.

Iris looked at him, stunned not by what he said but the fact that he said it at all. It was a truth she knew all along, and something she knew her dad was dying to tell her for so long now but never did, perhaps thinking he couldn’t ask for anything more beyond continuing to go to school and work, which she already did without him needing to push her. But she was just going through the motions, alive but not really living, and hearing someone not only notice but say it to her broke something inside.

Cisco wasn’t sure if it was possible to feel torn up inside and horrible but also somewhat elated and relieved at the same time but that was what he was feeling. He _never_ wanted to make or see her cry—hell, he spent the last seven months trying to put a smile on that beautiful face of hers—but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t feel some sort of way that they seemed to reach a new point in their relationship where the post-grad student felt that she could allow herself to be vulnerable in front of him and let the tears that always shined her eyes spill from them. Without hesitation, he pulled her into his arms and let her sob into his chest, rubbing a hand up and down her back in a soothing manner.

“I just miss him so much,” Iris said, her voice raw and muffled against the cotton fabric of his shirt.

“I know,” Cisco said softly. “And that’s okay.”

For a while, there was no other sound than the steady beeping of Barry’s heart monitor in the background. Eventually, she pulled away, sniffling and rubbing at her eyes.

“Okay, baby steps.” It was more to herself than to him, but the tech genius still raised an eyebrow at her. “Do you think we can watch that movie in here with Barry?”

“Yeah, totally, of course!” Cisco affirmed, wondering why he didn’t think of that himself. “It’s no problem to set up in here.”

Iris may not have inputted as much commentary as Cisco or Dr. Wells did during the film, but there was a soft ghost of a smile on her face as she listened, and as she snuggled deeper in her chair beside Cisco and intertwined her fingers with Barry’s as she watched, she found she didn’t feel more at peace than she had in a long time.

* * *

“I know being on time was never your strong suit, Bear, but it’s gonna be nine months since you’ve been in a coma tomorrow. You’re really pushing the limits on being tardy in the worst way possible, mister,” Iris half-joked, half-admonished from her regular position at his bedside. It was not a movie night but night all the same, and being on the eve another month with no change in his condition always made her restless as she tried not to linger too long on anger or worry or a million other emotions that passed through her. She may not have been a scientist but she was pretty sure the longer someone was in a coma the more grim things became.

Shaking her head to keep her thoughts from going down a dark road, the barista shifted in her seat and regarded her best friend once more. “I’m sure you’re aware of some of the crazy things I’ve done to try and wake you up, but…what I’m going to do right now might be the most selfish thing I’ve ever done.”

Iris bit down on her bottom lip as she paused for a moment before standing up. Pulling back the covers off of Barry, she took a seat on the bed, stopping only to remove her shoes before lying fully down next to him. She laid there for a moment, taking in the warmth radiating off of his body next to hers, feeling the bare skin of his unclothed upper body touching the covered one of hers. Distantly she supposed she was glad to be so tiny to fit, albeit squished up against him, and would’ve done anything to hear her best friend tease her about it.

Of all the visits and all the nights she fell asleep at his side, the barista had never once went on his bed or spent the entire night sleeping over; the former for obvious reasons and the latter for practical ones, often waking up a couple hours later to drive herself home. But tonight…tonight she was going to throw all of that out the window and do what felt _right_. With her resolve intensifying, Iris lifted Barry’s arm and turned to her side to snuggle closer to him, laying his arm back down around her and her head across his chest so that his heartbeat thundered in her ear. With one final motion, she pulled the blankets up around them again and in another first, Iris had fallen to sleep faster and sounder than she had in nine months.

Morning came much faster than Iris would’ve wanted, and she squeezed her eyes tighter as if the action could block out the sun streaming into the Cortex more than her closed eyelids were currently doing. But she was already awake, and the more aware of her surroundings she became the more she had a feeling something was…different. The dark-haired female expected to be in a different position than when she started, but she did not expect the other occupant in the bed with her to have moved sometime during her slumber as well.

Her heart beat almost as fast as the one that pounded in the chest her back was against—how could a heart go that fast?—and slowly, as if afraid her mind was playing tricks on her again (it wouldn’t be the first time), Iris turned her head and chocolate brown eyes met fern green ones. An involuntary shriek escaped her, and she rolled away so fast she fell off the edge of the bed. Instead of hitting the ground, though, she found herself within the protective arms of her best friend, who was crouched between her and the floor with her settled in his lap.

“How did you…?” the student started but was unable to finish, and whether she was referring to him being awake or him moving fast enough to catch her was unclear—honestly, it was a little of both.

Barry shook his head, looking as bewildered as she felt. “I don’t know, but…are you okay?”

“Am I…?” Iris repeated incredulously before shaking her head, laughing slightly. “I should be asking _you_ that.” Hesitantly, she reached out to cup his face, eyes filling up with tears. “Is this real or have I finally lost my mind?”

The forensic scientist leaned into her touch and gave her a bright smile, thumbing a tear that strayed from her eyes and down her cheek. “Feels pretty real to me.”

“Oh, my god!”

The spell between them broke at the external exclamation, and the two tore their eyes away from each other to look at the source. Cisco, the owner of the voice, stood at the doorway of the Cortex, flanked by Dr. Wells and Caitlin.

“He’s awake,” Dr. Snow stated the obvious, and in the next moment she and the engineer had approached the two as they got to their feet.

“Mr. Allen, welcome back,” Harrison greeted as he wheeled closer. “Hope you enjoyed your nine month rest. We have a lot to discuss.”

“Nine months?” Barry’s eyes widened, and he quickly found Iris from in between the two hovering strangers around him and took in the bittersweet smile she gave him. Suddenly her questioning her sanity made a little more sense. “Wait, I know you. You’re Dr. Harrison Wells.”

A small smile appeared on the handicapped man’s lips. “Well, that saves us on introduction. The two trying to administer tests on you are Cisco Ramon and Dr. Caitlin Wells.”

As if on cue, the female doctor held up an empty cup at him. “I need you to urinate in this.”

The next moment Cisco had grabbed it out of her hands, muttering, “Not right this second.”

Holding his hands up to act like barriers, Barry walked between them and into the safe space that being around Iris gave him. “Looks, guys, I feel fine. Better than I ever have, actually. All I want to do right now is just go home and be with my family.”

Iris looked up at him, remembering his insane response time when she had fallen off of the bed earlier, and Barry, sensing both her gaze and what she was thinking, subtly shook his head, and she decided to concede to him this once. Seeing as the three S.T.A.R. Labs workers were about to argue, though, Iris spoke before they could. “If anything happens I will bring him straight here.” She gave her best friend a brief glance to show she was speaking to him as well. Another display of…whatever that was and they were going to get him looked at—twice was no coincidence. “We just…we have a lot of time to make up for.”

There was nothing they could say against that—plus it was illegal to hold someone against their will. Still disgruntled, though, the two doctors backed up, and Iris took the opportunity to wrap her arms around Cisco in a tight hug that the engineer readily returned.

“You kept your promise; you brought him back to me,” she spoke before she pulled away to look at him gratefully.

“I’m pretty sure this was all you somehow, but you’re welcome.”

The barista’s smile was so bright the engineer couldn’t help but return it. “We definitely have to go out and celebrate sometime soon, okay? All of us!”

“As long as there’s sugar, food or alcohol, I’m game!” He savoured her laugh, and as he watched her move to thank the other two for their service, Cisco approached Barry, who was also following her around with his eyes. “Hey, good to have you back.”

“Hey, thanks. It’s good to be back. I don’t know how I could repay you for what you’ve done for me.”

“No big deal; just doing my job. Plus, it’s sorta hard to say no to that face,” he half-joked, and the two men laughed as they returned their gaze to Iris.

“Yeah, tell me about it.”

“From what I’ve heard about you from Iris, we might become good bros. But,” he paused for effect, causing the taller male to look back at him, “If you put her through this kind of pain again, you and I are gonna have some words, m’kay?”

There were so many things Barry could’ve said in response to that, most of which would’ve made Cisco lose some respect for the guy. But his answer almost bitter-sweetly told him that Iris couldn’t have been in better hands.

“I’ll spend my entire life making sure that never happens again. Not from me, anyone or anything. You have my word.”

After a final farewell, the two headed to the West house in Iris’ car, hoping to catch her dad at home, and she started to fill Barry in on what he had missed. She barely scratched the service once they arrived, and found that Joe had already left for work. Figuring he should change out of sweats while they were there, the forensic scientist started up the stairs, but barely took two steps before Iris had stopped him.

“Barry, wait,” she called, wringing her hands together in an action she got from seeing him do it all too often, and he turned around, moving back in front of her.

“Iris? What’s wrong?”

Her mouth opened but nothing came out, and she bit on her bottom lip—an action unbeknownst to them often preceded something life-changing from her. “Do you remember what you told me that night?”

The taller male’s breath hitched in his throat and he nodded, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants so that he wouldn’t start playing with them like he always did when he was nervous. “How can I forget?”

A small smile graced her lips, and when a couple more seconds of silence passed she let out a light laugh. “You’d think after all this time I would have found the words, but…”

Barry wanted nothing more than to hear what Iris was going to say, but seeing her in distress was painful. “Iris, you don’t have to do this.”

The barista shook her head and stepped closer to him, really getting into his personal space so much he almost took a step back out of reflex. “No, I have to, I _want_ to, because I can’t let another second go by without you knowing that I’m in love with you, Barry Allen. Being with you was the only time I have ever been truly happy and I—”

Her next words got swallowed up as in one quick motion Barry had taken his hands out of his pockets to cup her face and kiss her deeply with all the passion he held for her and then some, and yet it still didn’t completely convey just how intensely he _loved_ the woman he held. The kiss was legendary, the kind that won MTV Movie Awards—simply epic. She sucked his bottom lip deep into her mouth and laved it with her tongue, while his teeth bit gently into her upper lip.

Suddenly, it felt like Barry’s entire body was vibrating. Iris gasped, taken by surprise, and the scientist took the opportunity to plunge his tongue in and out of her mouth, mimicking what the lower half of his body had wanted to do to her for a long time. Whimpering at the onslaught of unadulterated pleasure, she wrapped one arm around his neck, losing several fingers in his soft hair, while the other went around his torso. This wasn’t good enough. She wasn’t close enough to him. Iris wanted—no, _needed_ —to feel more. Eventually, air became essential, and the two of them reluctantly broke apart.

“…Couldn’t keep it in anymore,” Iris finished her previously cut off sentence breathlessly, and Barry laughed gleefully at what he had reduced her to from just kissing, leaning forward to rest his forehead against hers.

“Iris.” He said her name like it brought him salvation, and she shivered, both from his tone and what he was silently asking her. Wordlessly, she pulled away just far enough to remove the jacket she had yet to take off—it felt like ages ago where he was supposed to just change into new clothes—and he placed his hands on her arms to halt her, half out of wanting confirmation and half because if anyone was going to undressing her, it was going to be him.

Gently, Barry asked, “Are you sure?”

She brought their foreheads together again and nodded against him. “I’ve learned the hard way that life’s too short to wait. Besides, I think it’s safe to say we’re months, if not years, overdue, don’t you think?”

As his response, Barry hooked an arm behind her knees and lifted her off her feet. Quite literally in the next instant they found themselves in her room upstairs, and Iris ran a hand through her now windswept hair, eyes wide not only in awe but in worry. “Barry…”

He knew what she was thinking, and that he should really go back to S.T.AR. Labs and get checked out, but… “I know, and we will. But I feel perfectly fine right now, and nothing is more important to me at this moment except for you, Iris.”

Speechless, she watched through tear-filled eyes as Barry gently lowered her onto the bed, and she spread her legs to accommodate Barry, who then spent the next countless minutes drinking in every moan and sigh that was emitted from her soul.

A couple hours later Iris found herself curled up under the blankets against him, her head perfectly fitted in the crook of his neck as his fingers moved from stroking up and down her bare back to thumb the soft curve of her hip.

“Well, that’s one way for you to change your clothes,” she teased, and Barry’s laugh reverberated through her in their close proximity.

“Yep…I’m pretty sure I’m gonna have to throw in a shower before we see your dad or go back to the lab.”

There was a twinkle in Iris’ eyes as she propped herself up to look down at him, and that was all the warning her got before she was clambering out of the bed. “I’ll race you!”

“You know, I have it on pretty good authority that I can most certainly beat you there,” Barry sing-songed, and he allowed himself a good long moment of soaking in her naked backside as she ran before he scooped her up and deposited them in the shower in a blink of an eye—she barely made it halfway down the hallway before he grabbed her.

It was a good thing one could multi-task in the shower, as cleaning themselves off was the last thing they did.

**Author's Note:**

> I find it hard to believe that with all the time they say Iris visited Barry, she never became friends with the S.T.A.R. Labs trio. At the very least Cisco and/or Caitlin. Even some Felicity interaction could’ve been thrown in there. They could’ve done so much relationship building, even if it had to be off-screen.
> 
> I’m also in love with the AU where Iris actually is like the first to know about Barry’s powers. Like, it shouldn’t even need to be AU honestly.
> 
> And I almost got implicit and explicit mixed up LOL I’m sure I’ll get there one day.


End file.
